"Okay, okay, I can only take so much," Kat stiffened. They were still surrounding her in their crushing group hug, "No more sappy shit, please."
"But you're so fun to hug," Mina whined as she tightened her grip while the rest of them let go, "You're so tiny, like a teddy bear!"
"I used to be taller than you, now get off!"
"Make me."
Kat was about to push the raccoon off, but she let go on her own when an eerie noise slowly filled their ears, their fun slowly dissipating into worry.
"Please tell me those aren't police sirens..." Kat was the only one who spoke, voice overflowing with panic. Eijiro wrapped his arm around her out of instinct, his grip like that of a boa.
She got her answer when the group ran out of Mina's bedroom into the hall, witnessing a herd of officers surrounding Denki's room
"Get back in your dorms, students. That's an order. We have this under control," One of the officers closest to them announced, holding his hand out in a stopping motion.
They cooperated, but not before they witnessed their classmate being escorted out of the building in handcuffs. A purple head of hair following close behind.
***
They had him in an interrogation room, one that seemed to be made especially for him. Every surface was covered in a thick layer of insulation. No doorknob. No table. No chair. Nothing. Just insulation. Just boring, white insulation. With that lovely orange uniform on, he was the only colorful thing in the room.
The door finally creeped open. The police must not have found a way to suppress his quirk yet, because they were wearing insulation as well; they looked like fucking astronauts.
"Denki Kaminari," One out of the three that had come in sat down on the floor in front of him, shuffling a thick stack of papers in his mitten hands, "that's not even your real name, is it?"
"Nope."
"We had the tech department dig up everything they could on you. Whoever made your alius did a piss poor job. There was nothing from before high school; it wasn't exactly hard to figure out."
"Figures," he shrugged. It was one thing to know your life, but it was absolutely fascinating to hear a cop dressed like an astronaut tell you about yourself.
"We also noticed your fingerprints have been burned off. Dental records don't exist. It's almost like any record of you up and vanished like a fart in the wind," He began laying the files out. They weren't files at all, but pictures. They had damn near every villain connected to the league in front of him.
"We're willing to cut you a deal if you cooperate," One of the other two spoke out, still refusing to sit. They must be there for backup, "either let a jury decide your feit, and possibly get life. Or help us out, and we can guarantee you'll get a max of five years."
"Maybe less, depending on how many you help us take down," the man sitting in front of him mumbled, "do we have a deal?"
He'd look them in the eyes if he could see their faces, but the masks they wore were tinted, "yeah. It's a deal."
***
The class was dead silent. If she didn't know any better, she'd think they were all statues.
That's to be expected, though.
They'd sent Shinsou back to the dorms the next morning, but nobody had seen him since; he'd locked himself in his room. She made sure to slip some granola bars under the door just in case he got hungry.
Everyone was taking it really rough, except Kat. Not that she knew or anything, it was just as much of a shock to her as anyone. But she just... wasn't surprised.
"We could always break in," Hanta mumbled through a mouth full of rice, "Kat knows how to pick locks."
"He needs time, scotch," Kat sighed, trying to force some sort of nutrients in her mouth as well.
"He needs food, too, Kat."
"We shoved some snacks under," She used the argument to slowly put down her food. If they were distracted, they wouldn't notice she wasn't eating.
"Well yeah, but who knows if he's actually eating it," Mina was currently using the table as a pillow, "I just wanna know that he's okay..."
"We don't need another person on suicide watch, Kat..." Hanta eyed her, raising an eyebrow to her untouched plate, "either you pick the lock, or Mina melts the handle."
"I'll melt the handle," Mina raised her head without hesitation, "fuck property damage."
"While I appreciate your enthusiasm, I'm really not trying to piss Aizawa off more than I have too," Hanta sighed while he leaned back in his chair. Their eyes locked, his were narrow with annoyance.
She stared back, knowing full well that she should get up and leave before she blew a fuse; but something in her mind made her stay, "his boyfriend just got arrested. He. Needs. Time."
"That's exactly what people said about you," Hanta quickly sat at the edge of his seat, elbows propped on the table.
If everyone in earshot wasn't eavesdropping before, they were now, "finish that sentence," Her chopsticks kissed the table in the same manner that a fist kissed a shit talkers mouth.
"I'm sorry that I don't want another one of my friends to die."
"I'm not dead, moron."
"You would be if we didn't save you," Everyone was looking now. She didn't notice.
Her palms lit up the table, leaving behind a veil of smoke that framed her now standing figure - those eyes gleaming like a spotlight in a storm, "I DIDN'T WANT TO BE SAVED!"
Kat immediately went to leave, not wanting to see the looks on their faces, but was stopped by her red haired anchor.
She didn't look up.
"Let's go, Kiri..." His grip tightened, but she could feel his arm shift as he stood.
"You don't mean that..." Kat could hear Mina's voice break as she led Eijiro out of the room.
And again, she didn't look up. Didn't respond. Just walked.
***
Kat didn't even pay attention to where she was going, just walked as fast as Eijiro would let her as she dragged him through the halls, and into the courtyard. A rather pretty patch of flowers caught her eye; pink lilies.
He didn't say anything, just inched close enough so that their shoulders touched. She didn't like crying, but he knew her well enough to know she would if he came any closer.
So he stayed back; even if every cell in his body wanted to hold her.
"It's not like I hate that she stopped me, you know," A shaky breath, and clenched fists accompanied her voice. Her palms were still glowing bright like embers lying in a neglected fireplace, "I just... I feel so trapped. I hate the way they look at me; at least before they still saw someone that was strong. A little cracked, and scarred, sure... but strong,"
Another breath, one that sunk deep into her lungs; on the exhale she reached one of her hands out, trying desperately to brush her thumb against one of the delicate petals... it crumbled, and fried before she could, sprinkling to the ground like tinted snow on a bitterly, cold night.
Her hand dropped, as did her head.
"But now all they can see is a corpse," She bent down, snatching a decent sized rock, and launching it into the unphased brick wall; the impact failing to hide the ear wrecking scream that escaped her malnourished frame, "IT'S NOT FAIR!"
"You are strong."
"Don't lie to me. Even some of the first years are passing me. I feel like a wolf. The pack leader that got its leg stuck in one of those cruel, jaw traps. Just slowly bleeding out as I watch the rest of my pack leave me behind," Tears were rejected, immediately wiped away by the back of her wrist. It hurt, burned almost. But not as much as feeling them run down her face, "It's just not fair. Why me? I worked so hard, put in everything I had, and for what? To be laughed at? Shunned by the whole fucking world, recruited by god damn FUCKING VILLAINS?!"
"I won't leave..." Fuck it, she needed to cry. He grabbed her shoulder, and pulled her in close, hardening the skin where her hands fell just enough to prevent a burn, but not so much so that it didn't feel like him, "I promise."
"Okay..."
***